Kiwi team aiming to strike gold in Sunshine State
By Jordan Gerrans
Kiwi conditioner Riley Evans is eager to start his new venture on a positive note and believes Goldstar Darcy can deliver his new Queensland kennel a first-up victory on Saturday.
The Evans family – led by the father-and-son team of Steve and Riley – will have their first Sunshine State runners on Saturday at the Q1 Lakeside facility.
The kennel have shifted across the ditch with 80 greyhounds – including pups and broodbitches - and three will fly the flag at their debut meeting: Darcy, Sid and Hunter.
The family breed, own and race all their own chasers and they all run with the Goldstar moniker.
Darcy will start in a fifth grade event over 457 metres from the five alley.
The son of My Redeemer is a two-time winner in New Zealand and has been placed on five more occasions from 10 career efforts.
“Darcy seems like he is a real nice type,” Riley Evans said.
“He is a pretty nice dog and I would say he is our best chance of the three on Saturday.
“He trialed pretty good so hopefully he can have a good run. He is the best of his litter.
“He is a handy type and I definitely think he is up to the task on Saturday.”
The Queensland newcomers were one of the biggest kennels in New Zealand – where they were based at Leeston Canterbury – before relocating.
The team had 80 winners to their name in the early part of 2025 before moving across, which brought in prizemoney earnings of $303,775.
While they were a prolific kennel in NZ, Riley admits they did have some concerns in the back of their mind about how their greyhounds would measure up to Australian racing.
But, following a lengthy trial process to get all their chasers ready to debut in Queensland, a few smart results settled their nerves.
“We were a bit worried how our dogs would compare,” Riley said.
“But, we went and trialed – and we didn’t know much about trial times – and the fella running the trials said we had a couple that were flying.
“We were real happy with that. I think we are going pretty good if that is the feedback we are getting.
“The rest we had trial, the feedback was that they would be competitive, as well.
“It was quite a relief when we heard that because we didn’t want to come over and be miles off the pace.
“Racing is different to trials, as we know, but at least we have dogs that we know can run the time.”
Riley’s father Steve will be licenced to train in Australia but the majority of the kennel’s dogs will be trained by Riley on race day.
Back in April of 2022, Riley Evans was announced as the Greyhound Racing New Zealand Board Award winner which provided him a grant to further upskill his knowledge of the greyhound industry.
He then spent a week learning about all aspects of the industry with the respected leading Victorian mentor Robert Britton.
A move to Australia has always been a dream of the Evans clan since then, according to Riley.
“It is so much more professional in Australia and that is what I want to be,” he said.
They have moved into a property at Churchable.
Riley lauded the help and guidance of Martina Kirillidis and Tim Britton since the Evans’ arrived in Australia.
